Dave Ramsey, Costco and Chinese made products : Bad Credit Advisor

Dave Ramsey, Costco and Chinese made products

I read The Costco Connection mag sometimes, since my wife is a Costco member, and who isn't these days? Under 'Starting right' section there are 5 "experts" including Ramsey, Tiffany Bukow of www.msmoney.com, Eric Tyson who wrote Personal Finance for Dummies, Laurence Kotikoff of Spend Til' the End and Liz Weston who is the most-read personal columnist and author of Easy Money. We recently got Chinese made certified organic kosher potato and fruit chips from Costco, and putting their kosher part aside, I had some fretting to do on China made organics, certified or not. Can someone please remind Costco that at present oil prices, it can afford to make chips and such somewhere in Idaho or Kansas? Much cheaper shipping costs, no? Never mind that, it is Dave Ramsey debt bashing I want to talk about.

According to Ramsey, most Americans can't even envision a car without a payment, a house without a mortgage, a student without a loan and credit without a card. But debt brings risk, and the risk outweighs any advantage debt may have. This is the most idiotic and sense less statement I have heard, read or seen. Living and breathing is risky Dave, walking and driving is risky, Mr. Ramsey. How many people can buy a home without a mortgage or a car for cash. How many students can afford tuition without student loans?

He goes on, when the credit-card companies approach you on campus or you get one of the billions of offers in the mail, run the other way. Just say NO! Another moronic advise, instead take the card(s) use them responsibly, build your credit history and use it to your maximum advantage. That's how I started.

Dave Ramsey goes on with his wishy-washy rhetoric, if you're just starting college, be one of many who get creative and work or use scholarships instead of student loans, if you already have student loans, get intense and pay them off. Don't keep them around .... That sounds like telling you to drive slower to save 20 cents on gallon of gas while price has gone up $2 per the very same gallon, or take vitamins when you need a surgery. This guy is completely out of it, living in some other universe.

I am so annoyed, I can't even write, but the last one is simply hilarious. Dave Ramsey writes the Forbes 400 is a list of the 400 richest people ... . When surveyed, 75 percent of Forbes 400 said the best way to build wealth is to become and stay debt-free. Well, it is quite right when you are on this list, but to make it there, literally every distinguish member on it had to borrow money and is borrowing it as I type in one form or another, save may be Warren Buffet.

Finally he claims I have met with thousands of millionaires in many years as a financial counselor, and I have never met one who said he made it all with Discover Card bonus points. Very funny Dave, that's may be how they started, no? I bet you never met Donald Trump or Robert Kiyosaki - both borrow money extensively. And unless you meet them, millionaires by the pack, I doubt you met 10 of those, never mind thousands. I also doubt that people of such caliber pick you as their financial advisor.

Take all the credit you can use and can repay back without breaking your own back, and do it only when it makes sense.

Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:07PM by Tony | More in Personal Finance | Comments (0)

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